Author: Sarah Wooten, DVM, CVJ

Rabies is a fatal viral disease that can infect all mammals—including dogs, cats, and people—and is certainly not something you want to risk or mess around with. It’s transmitted to other animals via a bite or scratch, and kills tens of thousands of people every year worldwide. While canine rabies has been mostly eradicated in the United States, an infected animal can still infect other dogs, cats, cattle, horses, people, and domestic animals. Making sure you get a rabies vaccine for dogs in your home is the best way to protect everyone—including your furry friends. Doing so also helps prevent the re-emergence of rabies

When it comes to keeping our dogs healthy, we think a lot about heart health, joint health and skin health, but how much do we think about liver health for dogs? It might not seem like the liver is doing a lot, but liver function impacts most systems in the body, and even mild liver problems can cause a big fuss. One way of protecting your dog’s liver health is with liver support supplements.

The appearance of the eye discharge depends on what kind of discharge the dog is experiencing. Types of Dog Eye Discharge Dog eye discharge comes in several varieties, and some are more serious than others. Some types of dog eye discharge require treatment, while others may be normal for your dog. Types of dog eye discharge include: Normal, tan-colored sleep crusts that accumulate in the interior corner of a dog’s eye while sleeping Clear tears that spill out of your dog’s eye White discharge, associated with inflammation or irritants of the eyeball or conjunctiva (the pink tissue that lines the inside of the eyelids and surrounds the eye) Yellow or green discharge associated with eye infections Bloody discharge associated with ocular trauma If you notice out-of-the-ordinary eye discharge in your dog, even if it is just clear tears, get it checked out by your veterinarian to make sure it isn’t something serious that can cause pain or loss of vision.,Jump to section What Does Dog Eye Discharge Look Like? When To Worry About Dog Eye Discharge How Veterinarians Diagnose the Cause of Dog Eye Discharge How To Treat Dog Eye Discharge How To Apply Dog Eye Medication Preventing Dog Eye Discharge

Watching a dog have a seizure is a terrifying event for most pet parents. If you have ever experienced this, you may wonder what causes dogs to have seizures?

When a female dog is “in heat,” it means she is ovulating and can breed and get pregnant. Dogs can go into heat when they are as young as 6-8 months of age, which means if they go into heat and have sex with a male dog, then they can get pregnant, even if they themselves are growing still. The first heat cycle often is missed by pet parents, which is why many veterinarians advocate for spay surgery at 6 months of age to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Heat cycles vary depending on the dog’s age, size and breed. Small dog breeds can cycle every 3-4 months, medium and large breeds typically cycle every 6 months, and giant breeds may only cycle every 6-12 months. Older female dogs may cycle less often than younger dogs. Bleeding during proestrus typically lasts around 7 days.,Jump to section When Do Dogs Go Into Heat? What is Happening When a Dog is in Heat? Signs of a Dog in Heat How to Prepare for a Dog in Heat How to Prevent Pregnancy in a Dog in Heat How to Help a Dog in Heat Frequently Asked Questions

Just like in humans, when a dog tears a cranial cruciate ligament, surgery is needed to repair the injury. For dogs that weigh more than 40 pounds, the recommended treatment for a torn cranial cruciate ligament is a surgical procedure called a tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, commonly referred to as a TPLO. TPLO surgery involves removing the torn ligament, removing torn parts of the meniscus, and then cutting the lower leg bone (tibia) to rotate the surface of the bone that is involved in the knee joint. If you are wondering why the surgeon would have to cut a bone to repair a ligament, then you are not alone. A TPLO procedure uses the principles of basic physics to stabilize the knee. The dog knee joint is sloped, and the major force holding the joint in place is the cranial cruciate ligament. When the cranial cruciate ligament tears, a combination of the slope of the knee and muscles acting on the knee, including the quads and the calf muscles, causes the femur bone to slide forward when the dog bears weight on the leg. Each time this happens, it not only hurts, but it abnormally wears down the cartilage, resulting in the development of osteoarthritis. It can also tear the meniscus that cushions the dog knee joint. When the tibial bone is cut and rotated in a TPLO surgery, it levels out the knee joint and stabilizes the joint. This eliminates the sliding action that causes pain and arthritis. Of course, if a surgeon cuts a bone, then it must be repaired. After the bone is rotated, the surgeon installs a stainless steel bone plate with screws on the tibia to hold the two pieces in place.,Understanding the Canine Cruciate Ligament and TPLO Surgery

When it comes to our dogs, we want to make sure they’re always happy. A pain-free dog is a happy dog, which is why it is important for pet parents to know the signs of pain in dogs and understand the variety of treatments available for dog pain relief. If you have ever asked yourself, “What can I give my dog for pain?” then you’ll be pleased to know that there are many over-the-counter (OTC), prescription, and holistic options you can try—with guidance from your veterinarian, of course.

While dogs at any age can suffer from the occasional bout of diarrhea, this issue may indicate other medical issues, especially in senior dogs. There are many reasons why an older dog could potentially struggle with senior dog diarrhea. But don’t immediately panic if you notice diarrhea in your older dogs. Fortunately, there are several ways to address this messy, debilitating and often uncomfortable problem.

Have you seen your pup scratching more? How about hair loss? What you might be seeing your poor pup suffer through are allergies, which are fairly common in dogs and can manifest in many ways, from skin and ear infections to itchy and red skin.  Fortunately, there are many options for treating a dog’s allergies, including topical therapy, medications, prescriptions, and nutritional management.  Talk to your veterinarian before starting any treatment for allergies.